I am pretty excited about this recipe review! I have spent a LOT of time reading vegan recipes on Pinterest and this is the firstcake or cupcake recipe I have tried. I love to bake which is fortunate since I don’t have much choice. Our youngest is turning two on Saturday, and he has dairy and nut allergies so I started looking for a vegan cake recipe for him. Our sweet little man is also allergic to bananas which are a common ingredient used in vegan baking to replace the eggs, so I got excited when I saw that this recipe didn’t require me to substitute ANYTHING!

Without further ado or rambling I present to you today’s cupcake recipe review. You can view the original cupcake recipe here.

As I said, I didn’t need to substitute anything so I followed the recipe to the letter. (okay, okay aside from the part where I got distracted and forgot how long to mix the icing but, hey…) So my first problem was with curdling the milk, cue immediate frustration and disappointment. I used rice milk, so I thought maybe the milk was the problem so I dumped it out and started over with So Delicious coconut milk. I don’t think it curdled as well as it should have, but I moved on to the next step. This recipe is fairly quick and easy to make, which is a huge plus when you have littles! I think it took about 15 minutes from start to oven.

My poorly curdled milk.

Once I whipped everything together I threw them in the oven and walked away to have lunch while the little guy watched Jungle Book and I could eat without him demanding every other bite. When the timer went off I came back to beautifully cooked cupcakes! THE FIRST TIME!! My primary concern was that the cupcakes would be dry (this is a common challenge with vegan baking) but they were just as moist as any other cupcakes I have ever baked. (I typically use boxed cake mixes for cupcakes.)

They are golden and slightly crunchy just like I like them!

I noticed two things after the cupcakes were done baking:

The cupcakes were not very sweet.

They are smaller than I would like.

The icing does take color, however, my red had to sit over night to be this vivid.

The first thing is remedied by the icing which pairs perfectly with the cupcake and is sweet enough to make up for whatever sugar the cupcake lacks. I am very particular about my kids sugar intake so I give this cupcake recipe two thumbs up for low sugar content. I might bake the cupcakes and let the kids eat them like muffins in the future. The second thing I can remedy by doubling the recipe so I’m not terribly concerned about it.
Once the cupcakes cooled I started on the icing. Initially I thought something was wrong, because my icing wasn’t fully blended but then I realized I had failed to whip it long enough.

The icing is really smooth and kind of thin for piping initially, but it thickens as it sits and it’s perfect for piping.

Once I finished mixing for the appropriate amount of time my icing looked and tasted great! I have made butter cream before, but this was my first vegan buttercream and I was pleasantly surprised. I wanted my icing a bit thicker and was thinking about decreasing the amount of liquid I added to my next batch, but after it sat for a while it stiffened up just enough for piping. I also find its consistency right out of the fridge perfect for spreading so I will leave it just like it is next time.

I put the icing in the fridge overnight and then tested it this morning, it’s still soft and smooth right out of the refrigerator.

All in all, this recipe is FANTASTIC! I will be using it for the little guy’s birthday this weekend and in the future. Keep your eyes peeled for more vegan recipes and reviews. Go chase those dreams and come back and check out Our Modest Life again soon!